I'm Here!

So I finally made it to India! I forgot to bring the camera cord, so no pictures today (if I can even figure out how to get pictures onto this computer).

First things first, I have a cell phone here. The number is 9962133548 if anyone wants to call. I'm not sure about the country code. And remember the 10 and a half hour time difference if you do call.

I didn't have any problems with jetlag. I've taken naps in the afternoon and still slept all night.

My first camp was yesterday. The two volunteers who have been here for a while said that the camp was really different from any they'd been too. Most of the people that we screened weren't actually poor, so we didn't hand out glasses. There was also another organization working with us, and there were no ophthalmalogists. I guess I'll see what a typical camp is like tomorrow when we go to another one. We rode out in the van to the camps (it took a long time, but I don't think it was actually that far out of the city). When we got there, we set up and started the screenings. We kept going, with occasional breaks to meet local bigshots, until about 2pm when we packed up and ate lunch that they provided for us.

Lunch was interesting. You eat with your hands, and the food had the consistency of really thick grits. Vijay said that it was rice cooked in curdled yogurt... and it tasted about like it sounds. However, it was really filling and I enjoyed it.

One interesting thing about the camp was all of the business cards that I managed to collect. A bunch of the guys came up and gave me their business cards. Thanks guys, but I don't think I'll be calling you.

We were supposed to go and watch cataract surgeries today, but they got cancelled at the last minute. Vijay and I went down to the clinic for a while to shadow the optometrists and meet with one of the ophthalmalogists. We have the rest of the day off now. It's James' last day here, so we'll probably go out tonight. This program is really unstructured. We have lots of free time in the afternoon and evening.

We have another camp tomorrow. Should be fun.

One more thing. In this city, pedistrians don't have the right of way... but cows do. Welcome to India I guess!